OC Today-Dispatch MARCH 28, 2025
STUBBORNLY LOCAL, EQUALLY INDEPENDENT
Sign up now for our new, Monday-Friday newsletter. — Page 12
PRICELESS
PHOTO COURTESY ERIK DOWELL
LIFT-OFF A blustery day at the Inlet this month left this flock of seagulls battling for prime position on the railing by the Atlantic Ocean. This weekend’s weather will feel like spring in the Ocean City area with temperatures expected to reach the low-70s inland and the 60s along the coast.
City, FOP may be OC dispensary site wanted arbitration bound New license holder wants to open store on Ocean City’s main drag. Officials cite zoning restrictions. — PAGE 72
With police contract talks stalled, both sides prepare to let a neutral party settle their differences. — PAGE 20
Jail gets 1st Amendment test Videographer succeeds in taping ... after phone call. — PAGE 74
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OC Today-Dispatch
MARCH 28, 2025
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OC Today-Dispatch
Mismanagement in county’s service area handling found funds.” Each is separate from the county’s general fund and is designed to generate its own revenue and to break even. Some enterprise funds generate a budget surplus and can set aside money in reserve. By Brian Shane However, it was discovered that a Staff Writer (March 28, 2025) Worcester majority of sanitary sewer service County officials have proposed rais- areas were not generating enough ing water and sewer rates as a possi- revenue to cover expenses and ran in ble solution to balancing the county’s the red for years. The districts have water and sewer district budgets, occasionally dipped into each other’s which have run at a deficit for years, reserves to cover costs – Young made relying on comingled reserve funds to the analogy to an IOU on a Post-It cover losses. note – but historically, they repaid The operational deficit, affecting these loans. seven of the county’s 11 independent However, one service district in sanitary sewer districts, was only dis- particular, Riddle Farm outside covered last fall by county leadership, Berlin, went deeply in the red when who now find themselves in a “fact- its aging physical plant became ineffinding, troubleshooting phase,” said ficient at treating wastewater. That County Administrator Weston sludge was trucked to the Ocean Young. Pines wastewater treatment plant at “We’re not out in front of this like a cost of $532,000 annually. we probably should be. The fact of the “Somebody made the call to pump matter is, many of these service areas and haul,” Young said of Riddle have not been Farm, “because it paying for themwas cheaper to fix selves,” he said. ‘Somebody made the call to pump the problem at New revenue is and haul, because it was cheaper hand. The entire needed to cover a time, from a pubto fix the problem at hand.’ system-wide oplic works standCounty Administrator erating deficit of point, it wasn’t $2.1 million for treated effecWeston Young fiscal year 2026. tively. They said, Young said this ‘let’s just take our could be covered by rate hikes, trans- sludge and treat it elsewhere’ – and fers from the general fund, a use of that’s not free. prior year surplus funds, grant “The downside is,” Young continawards, or some combination ued, “the rates never change. The thereof. folks who use water and sewer in Rid“The initial thought was, you take dle were paying the same amount, that $2.1 million and you divvy it up but it costs more to operate. Every over, say, the 18,000 rate payers and quarter, every year, Riddle is going then in a quarterly bill, that’s proba- further and further in the hole. At a bly a $32, $33 addition. That is one certain point, the comingled reserves way of doing it,” Young said. would run out.” He emphasized that this particular Young also said, if money was rate hike proposal is one potential ap- needed for improvements, the indiproach and isn’t a final decision. viduals overseeing wastewater plants The matter will be up for discus- were supposed to formally request for sion before the Worcester County an overage in expenditures from Board of Commissioners at a May 6 elected officials. Not only did that public hearing. The commissioners never happen, Young said, but the already held a public hearing on this IOUs and comingling continued for issue in December, where the public years. did express some frustration with the According to county spokeswoman prospect of higher bills. Kim Moses, the county first learned Commissioners were briefed on about all this about a year ago, when the rate hike proposal at their March officials took steps to streamline their 18 meeting in Snow Hill. User rate in- budgeting process by putting all creases, which would vary across the budget modifications in the hands of county’s 11 service districts, are in- the Budget Officer, Kim Reynolds. tended to cover the operating deficit, Before this, the county’s enterprise according to Quinn Dittrich, the fund controller had direct access to county’s enterprise fund controller. amend the budget, and the enterprise “We took the budgeted FY 26 ex- funds were monitored by the county penses and looked at the service areas treasurer. as a whole and applied the expenses Officials said that Reynolds in Febto the rate payers,” he told the com- ruary 2024 had received multiple remissioners. quests about moving revenue from Here’s how the finances are sup- reserves. On further examination of posed to work: Water and sewer op- the enterprise accounts, they saw that erations are considered “enterprise See RATEPAYERS Page 66
‘Gross negligence’ could increase water and sewer rates, county official claims
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